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East Bay Girls Volleyball Player of the Year: Katherine Claybaugh, San Ramon Valley

By Matt Smith

Correspondent

Posted:
12/18/2013 03:29:54 PM PST

Updated:
12/19/2013 10:36:07 AM PST

DANVILLE -- If 2012 was a good season for San Ramon Valley High girls volleyball player Katherine Claybaugh, then 2013 was extraordinary.

Claybaugh had 456 kills as a freshman and was an honorable mention selection for the East Bay Athletic League. But what a difference a year makes.

This year as a sophomore, Claybaugh was named most valuable player in the EBAL with 646 kills as she carried the Wolves to an unbeaten league record and a North Coast Section Division I title.

Now Claybaugh's accomplishments include being selected as the Bay Area News Group's East Bay Player of the Year.

San Ramon Valley High's Katherine Claybaugh is photographed on the Danville, Calif., campus on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Claybaugh is the East Bay girls volleyball Player of the Year. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)
(
Dan Honda
)

"I've been most impressed with her drive and determination," San Ramon Valley coach Brian Fujinaga said. "She loves the game of volleyball, loves competition and wants the team to succeed more than anything. She's been waiting for this opportunity for so long, and she's going to do what it takes to make sure she doesn't waste her chance."

Claybaugh was at her best in the NCS playoffs. She had 88 kills in three section playoff matches and 21 more in a NorCal playoff loss to Palo Alto.

Despite being the offensive focus, she was still able to put up gaudy numbers. For the season, she scored 710 points, accounting for a little better than 40 percent of the Wolves' offense.

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"Katherine has really good vision and sees the block and defense well," Fujinaga said. "She's also a very good listener and can make adjustments on the fly. On top of all of that, she's very dynamic and gets a lot out of her approach and technique."

Claybaugh was also trying to fill the void left by the graduation of last year's big hitter, Emily Reder.

"Coming into this year, I knew I had to fill her shoes," Claybaugh said. "I work well under pressure and trying to fill her shoes put pressure on me."

Despite the personal accolades, Claybaugh is most proud of what the Wolves accomplished as a team.

"We accomplished every goal we set out to accomplish as a team," Claybaugh said. "And every girl played a role in that and it was a fun team to be a part of."